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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. ground — crushed
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. craft — a skill
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. ground — a position
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. mine — for digging
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. craft — boats
  22. branch — a division
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bowl — a football final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com